The PaddlerUK magazine September 2015 issue 4 | Page 59

and enjoying wild adventures I love being outside and for me one of life’s simplest pleasures is to paddle a canoe or kayak with my camping gear and spend the night in a remote location. My adventures, great and small have seen me canoe, kayak, bike and ski almost 8,000 miles of trips and expeditions, plus of course lots of day to day paddling. Each one is special for a multitude of reasons, the team sharing the journey, food cooked on a stove or campfire and of course colours, wildlife and other shared moments. By Richard Harpham My canoe trips have seen me paddle the Great Glenn Canoe Trail twice including the river sections, the length of the Great Ouse (140 miles), the River Till, parts of the Tweed and Severn, much of the Wye and Thames as well as various other locations further afield. In 2010 our Big 5 kayak challenge team canoed 700 miles of the Yukon River. One of my most memorable jaunts was to canoe around Holy Island, Lindisfarne with my expedition buddy and owner of Active 4 Seasons Olly Jay. This resulted in time ‘canoeing with dolphins’ and a little swim after surfing in a big wave around the northern sand bar. This article is intended to provide some ideas and tips to help inspire you to dust off your canoe (or sea kayak) and plan a journey. PADDLERUK 59